Starting in early January 2005, LightScribe-enabled products were available at major computer and consumer electronics outlets and via online shopping. Click on Looking for LightScribe for a list of current LightScribe-enabled hardware, software, and media. Look for the LightScribe logo on retail packaging to identify LightScribe-enabled products. LightScribe-enabled discs also display the LightScribe logo on the inner “hub” of the disc itself.

To burn a LightScribe label, simply follow your software’s onscreen instructions. If you’re using a data-burning application that’s LightScribe-enabled, the application will ask if you want to burn a label. Then it will gather content to pre-populate a suggested label design and present the design onscreen. You have the option of selecting that label or making changes.

No. Current LightScribe technology is not erasable. Once the image is burned, it’s permanent. But software applications with LightScribe capabilities are designed to preview the image onscreen before it is burned—you can accept or make changes to that image before moving forward, so unplanned or undesired images will not be sent to the disc for burning.

The best way to clean the label side of the disc is with a soft, lint-free cloth. There are cleaning kits available on the market, or you can clean discs with water. The white powder you may see on some labeled discs results from crystallization of the label-side coating. It is not harmful and can easily be removed with a water-dampened cloth. Wiping the disc with a damp cloth will not harm the label.

Yes. A study of the potential for health and safety problems resulting from handling LightScribe-coated discs found no reason for concern.

A8. LightScribe is an innovative technology that uses a special disc drive, special media, and label-making software to burn labels directly onto CDs and DVDs. Your labels can be whatever you want them to be. Create one-of-a-kind designs with your own photos, text, and artwork using your label-making software. Or choose from the many free backgrounds the software provides.

The difference in appearance of labeled LightScribe DVDs and CDs stems from the difference in how CDs and DVDs are made in general. DVDs have a second plastic layer, which CDs don't have, that creates a kind of "plastic sandwich" around the reflective layer on which data is burned. This additional plastic layer separates the reflective layer from the LightScribe coating on the surface of the disc.

LightScribe-enabled software comes with a variety of backgrounds to help you create great-looking labels, or you can import digital photos, or your own images from Photoshop. There are three types of backgrounds to choose from—Title, Content, and Full—and each refers to how much radial space is covered on the label. You can also choose between circular and straight text for your label. No.

Yes. The labeling runs in the background, so your computer can be used for other tasks while the process is underway.

Yes. LightScribe doesn't require your presence during the burning process. In addition, a LightScribe system will not go into sleep or power-save mode while it is burning a label.

Yes. If you decide to add content later, it will be correctly aligned with existing titles and images.

No. Scratch testing has shown that the coating on LightScribe CDs and DVDs is robust and should not be affected by slot-loader players.

No. Although the terms “burning data” and “burning labels” are standard in the industry, there is no appreciable temperature change involved in either process. A CD or DVD is safe to touch immediately upon being ejected from the drive. To get the best labeling quality and speed, LightScribe recommends that you use the latest software. Your labeling application will prompt you to update to the latest version of the LightScribe software.

In this situation, an update must be done in order to use the LightScribe labeling system. To perform the update, simply click on the update button as prompted by the application. Until the update is performed, you will receive this message every time you try to label a disc.